May 28 2021 #218

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ANIMALE E PERSONA:
Hannah Rieger Art Brut collection

May 29 – June 27, 2021

In the exhibition “Animale e persona”, Hannah Rieger shares her extensive collection in the Barockschlössl in Mistelbach, Germany, including works by international Art Brut artists.

Animale e persona, Giordano Gelli (1995). Tempera on fabric, 68 x 70 cm

It is a matter close to her heart to make this art visible. Hannah Rieger is interested not only in this art genre, but also in the artists and their worlds.

General Guisan Under the Final Bouquet, Aloïse Corbaz (1951–1960). Coloured pencils on paper, 59.5 x 42 cm

Woman with Black Hair, Johann Hauser (1995). Coloured pencils on paper, 42 x 29.6 cm

Mistelbach played an important role in the reform of psychiatry in Austria when institutional psychiatry began to open up to community-based psychiatry on the initiative of the head of the Gugging Regional Psychiatric Clinic.

With her commitment to making Art Brut known, Rieger also makes an important contribution to diminishing the taboos surrounding mental illnesses.

Krokodil Laila auf, Laila Bachtiar (2001). Coloured pencils on paper, 70 x 100 cm

A PDF catalog in German is available for more information on the exhibition.

VENTURE ARTS

UK arts charity Venture Arts have joined forces with specialist architectural lighting company Studiotech to work on a series of projects set to be unveiled on 29 May, the first being a giant cube light sculpture to appear in Manchester city centre.

Installation mock up image

Venture Arts is an award-winning visual arts charity which aims for people with learning disabilities to be empowered, celebrated, included and valued in the arts, culture and society.

Their mission is to shape a new cultural landscape where people with learning disabilities reach their potential as artists, curators, critics, audiences, participants and advocates.

Venture Arts artist Barry Anthony Finan working on Yes I wannt to do tricksserrs (n.d.), coloured pencils on paper, 450 x 450 cm

The installation will incorporate creative work by Venture Arts artists and feature an additional cube that can be controlled by members of the public.

This futuristic innovation will enable bystanders to change the colour and the artwork featured as part of the installation.

Stargirl, Thomas Owen (2018). Pen on paper, 45 x 45 cm

“Altered Space” is the second of three exhibitions in the x3 series, hosted by Project Ability. It will explore the ways we view our environment, reflecting on the past year and the resulting shift in how we interact with space.

ARTIST HIGHLIGHT:
Thomas Riesner

Inside, (2021). Ink on A4 paper

"I don’t have a starting point for my works of art. That might sound a bit strange. I just start painting. Everything arises from the subconscious. Actually, my own mind and soul influence me and music and films also influence me more often."

"I was born in 1971 in Leipzig, Germany, where I still live today. I suffer from an anxiety psychosis. When I'm not feeling so good I start painting; that calms me down a lot. My pictures just come out of my subconscious. I taught myself how to paint."

Attack:1, (2021). Ink on A4 paper

Riesner was featured in Puppet Master Underground Art Magazine issue #5 published May 5, 2021, which readers can check out here. He was also featured on the KD Outsider Art blog artist showcase.

"THOMAS RIESNER-ARTBRUT:part:1" (2021)

Follow Riesner on Instagram (@thomas.riesner1), Facebook (facebook.com/thomas.riesner.de) and his YouTube channel (youtube.com/channel) to see more of his artwork.

Man From the Dark, (2021). Ink on A4 paper

Attack:2, (2021). Ink on A4 paper

MARY WHITFIELD:
100th Anniversary of Tulsa Massacre

In memory of the 1921 Tulsa, Oklahoma, Massacre that occurred May 31 – June 1.

To protect their dominance, white mobs attacked, killed, and burned prominent Black businessmen and businesses from Greenwood Avenue – a thriving business district known as Black Wall Street.

It left approximately 300 dead and 10,000 homeless. No one was held accountable and no mention of the terrorizing and destruction of the community. On the 100th anniversary, 1 June 2021, excavation begins in Tulsa to locate the mass graves to restore freedom, justice and hope to all the lost souls.

My Ancestor's Blood Cry From the Earth, Mary Whitfield (1995). Watercolor on canvas board, 30.5 x 40.6 cm. Courtesy of Phyllis Stigliano

OBITUARY:
Ivana Brádková (1965–2021)

The death has been announced of pioneering Czech curator Ivan Bradkova.

It was thanks to her spatial imagination and willingness to attempt non-traditional solutions that Ivana Brádková could join forces with theorist Terezie Zemánková.

The curator couple prepared a series of probably the most generous and best-attended exhibitions of art brut in Prague: “Art brut: the abcd Collection” (2006), “Prinzhorn Collection” (2009), “Adolf Wölfli – The Creator of the universe” (2012), and “Art Brut Live: the abcd Collection” (2015).

The list of well-selected and creatively installed exhibitions could go on, especially those at Montanelli Museum and at the Dox Gallery – the collection of art brut outsiders of Pavel Konečný (2012), Japanese art brut (2013), Luboš Plný’s profile (2017), etc.

Text: Jaromír Typlt